Private Behavior
by a-happy-love
Summary: In the lull between bijuu collection, offing squicky enemies and a vital recon mission, the Akatsuki decide to up their number. ItaSaku with dashes of DeiSaku, a reluctant SasoSaku, and the dreadful evercompliant SasuSaku. [CH 3 UP]
1. one

I haven't written fanfiction in years.  
This feels awkward. And weird.  
Large amounts of artistic license taken. I plead the first.  
Sakura's birthday date is canon.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Move along now.

**-  
**x  
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**.private behavior.**

-chapter one-  
by a-happy-love

**-  
**x  
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_Winter. A few miles from the border of Kirigakure_

He was almost there.

There wasn't much point in diverting himself from the objective. The three stages of accomplishing any ninja goal were briefing, preparing, and then the mission goal itself. This was all in accordance to prepare for another mission. Nothing more.

Anyways, she probably wasn't alive. After all, she had served no other purpose than to heal him. The thought of him even having had to rely on another individual sickened him. He was becoming weak.

-Or already weak-, he thought darkly, dragging his useless leg behind him in the snow. He didn't have to look behind him to guess the trail he was leaving, one even a four-year old could follow. At least in the snow his blood would flow sluggishly, leaving wounds that did not bleed as freely.

In the howling wind, he allowed himself the small private comfort of imagining her on the day he had left, devastated and broken. He thought of her eyes and how they had changed as she grew older, from round, widened orbs to a hardened cat-like slant, cool and calculating.

Like him.

Only in the blizzard where the snow buried everything deep did he allow himself to imagine her losing sleep over him, wasting tears for him. He imagined her lithe frame, shaking with tormented anguish resolutely locked inside, delicate fingers curled into angular fists.

He could sense the structure fast approaching, quite possibly the only spot of color in a bleak and empty landscape. As testament to his skillful memory, he had remembered every trap from a mile away to here and avoided them all, blinded.

Grimly, he placed one hand on the frame of the door, favoring his right arm over the injured left. The conversation inside suddenly come to a lull and various chakra signatures extended out to examine him.

He remembered the day he chose this exact location for their hideout, the timbre and quality of the wood selected for the framework, and each singular cloaking jutsu cast upon it.

However, for the life of him, he could not bring himself to recall the exact brilliance and hue of her eyes.

**nine months earlier  
**_Mid-spring. Evening in Konoha, Hi no Kuni  
_

"Three more minutes, Sakura-chan!"

The shopkeeper paused from his routine wipe-down of the glassware to watch the addressed girl swat playfully at a tall, grinning blonde. It was a Sunday night and the small ramen bar usually took the end of the weekends off, but today was an exception. Considering his best customer was the one who had arranged the celebration, he could hardly complain. When that Naruto was around, ridiculous amounts of ramen followed.

It was a cheery bunch, outgoing and noisy in their companionship. The shopkeeper recognized many familiar faces, having seen them all grow from tiny children, eying their first bowl of noodles suspiciously, to brand-new certified ninjas, beaming under shiny, plated headbands, all the way to what they were now.

The raucous Naruto was easily the leader of the group, his wild antics both shocking and delighting the party. However, the party currently revolved around a shrieking rosette-haired girl, currently doubled over in laughter.

She was pretty, the shopkeeper mused. A heart-shaped face with a pointed chin framed large, emerald eyes that blinked back tears of mirth. Light pink locks brushed the sides of her cheeks, bringing sweetness into a face that showed resolution and will.

"I-Ino, s-s-stop," she choked, doubled over on her stool. Her attacker, a fair-haired girl with a mischievous grin merely tickled her friend with renewed determination.

"No way, Sakura! You will succumb entirely to the mercy of my.. Tickle no Jutsu!"

Another gaggle of ninja surrounded a lazy looking man, who was captivating his audience with far-fetched tales of extraordinary mishaps.

"..And so, when her jealous past lover found the garter straps, lacy slip, and rubber duckie in my apartment, he put two and two together and took a poisoned katana to my face while I was sleeping later that night. Any questions?"

A large-set boy with an appetite that put even Naruto's to shame chewed his noodles thoughtfully before asking, "And that's how you lost your eye?"

"..Yup."

An inebriated Gai spent the next few moments attempting to follow up Kakashi's masterpiece with tales of his own debauchery, which fooled none but the accepting Chouji.

-Oh well-, he thought, finishing up his seventh bowl of the night with a satisfied gulp. Shikamaru had always warned him about the so-called fairer sex. Maybe this was just a strengthening reason as to why girls were so nasty in general.

As an adoring Lee cheered on his team leader's shameless fables, a willowy, dark-haired girl with startling pale eyes giggled, clasping the hand of a cheeky Naruto who was teasing a bored looking youth.

"And here we were, thinking you'd be first to ANBU. Neji's got you outranked, and now Sakura too?"

The Chunin, Shikamaru merely gave an unaffected shrug. "Too much effort. It's so troublesome to go through with all those exams. I rather just stick with where I am now. Who knows. Maybe raise some deer. The quiet life, you know me."

The boy behind him gave a snort. "Exactly the reason why you became a ninja, I'm sure."

"Don't. Move," Sai grunted, swiveling to a new position. Kiba rolled his eyes but froze. The quiet ROOT member was painting the scene, a feat almost impossible due to the capering and all-around disruption of a certain Naruto Uzumaki.

Said ninja gave a great leap and collapsed onto the bar behind his teammate. "Oi, Sai, you're making me look cool in your drawing, right? Can't have dopey drawings of a future Hokage being produced." He prodded the irritated artist a few times to further emphasize his point.

"First off, it's a painting, not a drawing," Sai replied. "Second, I draw what I see. Which in this case is a dickless idiot."

For once, Naruto didn't deign to reply, being too wrapped up in other issues at hand. "Hey, everyone! Hey! Three second countdown, three!"

The rest of the bar quickly broke off from their individual conversations to join in happily.

"Two!"

"One!"

The shopkeeper made the wise choice of closing his fine china drawer with a 'click'.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAKURA!"

The entire bar erupted into voluminous noise and a crowd soon formed, composed of friends, teachers, and life-long companions all eager to clap the kunoichi on the back and offer their congratulations.

"Happy 16th, Sakura!"

"Congratulations on ANBU!"

"We knew you could do it, Sakura."

"Haha, congrats, Sakura-chan! Wow, I guess I'm the only non-ANBU left on our old team!"

The pink-haired ninja laid a hand on her teammate's shoulder, looking up into his shining blue eyes. Sakura could no longer remember how she had ever lived before knowing Naruto. He acted as her closest confidante and best friend. Having planned this surprise celebration for her showed the deep care he felt for her, a sensitive side to him sometimes overshadowed by his blustering exterior.

"Thank you, Naruto," she replied, genuinely meaning it. Sometimes, just hearing her friend's continued use of 'Sakura-chan' as an endearment for her kept her smiling.

Naruto placed his own hand atop hers. "You deserve this, Sakura-chan," he replied, his tone falling to a quieter level. "You honestly do."

Sakura had to repress a shiver as she felt the jolt of his immense chakra that came with both his serious attitude and the touch. Having perfected her skills in chakra sensing during her ANBU training, Sakura still had difficulties coming to terms with the raw power that exuded from the Kyuubi when she came into direct contact with him. It was staggering, to say the least, and Sakura had explained to a dejected Naruto numerous times during her initial training why she couldn't be around him for extended periods of time without becoming nauseous.

However, she knew this touch to be more than just a friendly show of affection. In his eyes, Sakura saw the hidden meaning underlying his spoken words.

_With you in ANBU, we're one chance closer to getting Sasuke back_.

Sakura suddenly felt incredibly exhausted from both the stress of having waited the entire day for her ANBU results and the mental strain that constantly accompanied her thoughts when they turned to their elusive former teammate. However, before she could so much as squeeze Naruto's hand back in understanding, a disruption from the other side of the bar roused her attention.

A sole figure Sakura recognized as Shizune hurriedly made her way through the crowd. "Orders from Tsunade-san," the young woman stated, sensing the curious looks directed at her from every corner of the room. "Best read it now, Sakura." She gave the young kunoichi a sheepish smile, as though already apologizing for interrupting the celebration.

Intrigued, Sakura took the proffered scroll and scanned it quickly. "A mission to Suna? But it's dated.." She blinked, eyes widening in surprise. "It's dated for today." She looked up for clarification from the Hokage's assistant.

"Sorry, we got it late. The message came in through carrier pigeon some time this morning, but we didn't get around to it until just a few hours ago."

Sakura bit her lip, weighing her choices. In another ten hours would be her formal induction into ANBU, something she had waited all her life for. However, the mission outline, although lacking in detailed information, assured her it was of utmost importance and could not wait. Besides, as the ANBU was a highly private organization, the only attendees to the induction would be her, the Hokage, and a select group of friends she chose to inform.

Sakura had to repress a grin. Like she could really refrain from inviting them all. She could already imagine her mentor's expression as she tried to explain why there was a mass mob of drunk, hungover partygoers demanding entrance to her ANBU induction.

"They requested you specifically," Shizune's voice cut in, bringing Sakura back to the situation at hand. "We're guessing it must be some medical emergency."

Sakura blushed. She knew her medical reputation was beginning to precede her in many major villages, but it was still intimidating to think others knew of her before she had even met them. She nodded, knowing that her choice had been concrete before she even considered alternative possibilities.

She was a true ninja indeed, and Sakura was proud every time she found occasion to prove it.

"I'll go."

"Good," Shizune said, nodding her approval. "Gaara-san will brief you in on the technicalities of the mission in Suna. He'll be awaiting your arrival." She turned on her heel in preparation to leave.

"Wait!"

The members of the party all turned to look at a paling young girl, unused to so much attention.

"I-I'll go with S-Sakura-kun."

Sensing the Hyuuga heiress's distress, her gruff teammate Kiba chimed in, "Me too." He grinned, looking at the astonished pink-haired kunoichi. "Best way to get over a hangover quick is with a bit of exercise."

Chouji eyed Shikamaru's shifting form warily. Better save his friend from future lady problems while he still could.

"I'll go too," Chouji called, before his teammate had so much as opened his mouth. Across the room, Ino gave a smirk, not missing the slump in Shikamaru's shoulders as he missed out on a chance of visiting the Kazekage's older sister.

"All right then, it's settled," Shizune announced, before Sakura had a chance to protest. "I'll report to the Hokage and we'll arrange accommodations for you all in Suna. Report back to us when you reach the country." With thumbs-up, she turned her gaze to the bewildered new ANBU member.

"Oh.. and Sakura. Happy birthday. Hope you wished for something special."

With a spin, she was gone.

**  
a few hours later  
**_Morning. Gates of Hidden Leaf Village  
_

Sakura laced up the finishing straps on her pack before hooking it over her shoulders with a quick shrug. The sun was peeking out from the high treetops of bordering forest, signaling a bright day ahead. Checking to make sure a good supply of water had been packed where it could be easily accessed, Sakura gave a quick nod to the gate patrolmen and walked out to where a small group was standing.

"Good day for traveling," Kiba winked, leaning over in long stretches. "Gonna be a hot one too."

Sakura groaned. The hurried arrangements had set her running for last-minute supplies all morning, leaving little time for even a tiny bit of sleep. Still, medical emergencies weren't questioned.

Hinata attempted to hide a yawn, failing miserably. Sitting in the dirt next to her, Chouji made the final checks on his rations, making sure both the emergency food and the emergency-emergency food were well over standard portions. Just in case, of course.

"Let's just get this started," Sakura sighed, shifting her bag knowing whatever position it took, she'd wind up with sore shoulders. She wanted to get started as quickly as possible, knowing the faster they got to Suna, the faster the emergency would be dealt with and the faster she could throw herself into an invitingly soft bed.

Her teammates nodded, and with a practiced motion, bounded rapidly off into the forest. Sakura lingered, giving one last look to Konoha before following.

-Wait for me Naruto. When I get back, we'll face what comes next.. together.-

**  
meanwhile  
**_Morning. Gates of Hidden Leaf Village  
_

The man standing on the topmost tiling of the Konoha gates watched the tiny figures travel out of eyesight before releasing the pigeon in his hands. The bird circled twice, testing the wind before turning west at a direction perpendicular to Sakura's group. As it flew off, the man allowed himself a moment of reflection as he watched the tiny letter tied to the pigeon's legs flutter in the breeze.

-The Akatsuki will reach her soon,- he thought grimly. -Too bad they aren't big on chatting. I'd like to know what they have in store for that girl.-

Leaping skillfully off the rooftops, the man hurried back to the center of town. He could already tell he was late by the shout coming from a busy market lane.

Coming to a stop in a deserted alley just a few blocks from the source of the noise, the man carefully brushed himself down, leaving not even the tiniest wrinkle to show his prior behavior. He smoothed his hair back and placed on his head a folded paper cap.

It would not do for his best customer to be kept waiting much longer. With a smile, the man reached inside his apron and crumpled the remainder of the paper he had used for his messages, both the faked mission request sent previously to the Hokage and the alert written to the organization members. Slowly and surely, he placed the wad of paper into his mouth and chewed, musing over the only possible outcome of his actions.

-She will not escape them. The Akatsuki has her now.-

He swallowed the evidence and willed himself to relax. As he began his walk towards the ramen bar he owned, he allowed the genuine smile on his face to reach the depths of his eyes.

He could afford to be happy now. After all, he was on his way to seeing his favorite customer.

* * *

**A/N: **Trés cliché. 

I have no idea when I'll update this. I'm a Myspace- and Facebook- addicted high school student with little time and a bad history with completing fics.

I spell DOOM.

I'm also looking for a beta who doesn't mind sporadic schedules. Please email me (address on profile).


	2. two

I'm glad this story's getting so many hits so fast. :D  
It makes me want to write more, haha.  
Read & review please.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto in any way, fashion, form, or fantasy. Oh, how the poor can dream.

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**x  
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**.private behavior.**

-chapter two-  
by a-happy-love

**-  
**x  
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**  
march 30th  
**_On the way to Suna_

The sky was a pale, cornflower blue. Few birds dotted the skyline, and the last bit of chirping Sakura had heard was far back in the forests of Konoha. Here the environment was cruel and relentless; the sun beat down on their backs all day and more than one mirage had drove the gullible Chouji into occasionally scarfing down unhealthy amounts of sand.

They had been traveling for almost two days now. The first encountered desert a day ago, which put them well-ahead of expectations. Still, it was tiring, thankless work. Directional sense was also becoming a little skewed, as the endless piles of sand had no distinguishing features and the upcoming landscape constantly changed as the wind blew.

The sweaty group of four plodded along noiselessly save for their panting and wheezing, too tired to spend the journey conversing as they had back in forests of the Land of Fire. With each step they took, their feet sunk miserably. Sakura had caught herself developing a neurotic sort of twitch whenever a particularly rough patch of sand was crunched, and was more than glad when Kiba decided to break the monotony of the pacing.

"Hey," he called over his shoulder. "Let's play a game."

"What. Sort. Game." Sakura didn't feel the need to waste precious energy through coherent syntax. She narrowly avoided stepping on a sand lizard and watched it with an unattached sense of interest as it scurried forwards and latched onto Kiba's shoe. Sakura entertained the hope of the tiny creature exploding, being squished, expelling excrement, anything to take her mind off the vast tracts of sand.

"Word association. I say a word, you guys go in order and reply with the first thing you think of. Deal?"

From behind Sakura came a grunt and a cough. The reptile on Kiba's trackers wriggled its tail back and forth before sailing off with a plop. Disappointed, Sakura turned her attention to the game.

"Right. First word, sand."

"Sand."

"Sand."

"..Sand."

Kiba's steps quickened, obviously displeased with his teammates' lack of spirit. "You guys are pointless," he grumbled, scanning the southwest border.

Right on cue, a large mass of sand appeared on the horizon. As it slowly came closer and exponentially increased in size, Sakura remembered at the last second to cast a chakra shield in front of her face as Akamaru bounded up.

Judging by the sneezing and choking behind her, Chouji and Hinata weren't as resourceful.

The Inuzuka dog had been acting as lookout in the confusing desert for the past few hours. Akamaru, surprisingly enough, had taken well to the climate and environment of the Land of Wind, taking in the desert like a child in an over-sized sandbox. The usually pure white dog was covered in a thick layer of dust, which fell onto Kiba as he gave the overgrown pet a hearty ruffle.

Sakura scowled, feeling a tinge of envy for Akamaru's enthusiasm. First thing she was doing after whatever the Kazekage had cooked up for them was locking herself into a nice, -cold- shower. Her body slumped at the thought of when that would be.

Kiba waved his teammates closer to him. His brows were knotted in confusion. "According to Akamaru, we've still got a few miles to go," he said slowly. "Guess we won't be within distance till evening."

"Hey, I say we bring Lee next time," Chouji suggested, helping dust a sneezing Hinata off. "At least he could prompt Sakura to move a bit faster."

Sakura was about to offer a nasty retort, specifically aimed toward the Akimichi clan member's maternal lineage, when Kiba casually threw up a hand.

"Hey guys," he groused, "Hate to break up the friendly feelings here, but that's not all Akamaru's noticed." The boy's face took on a grim cast.

"I've suspected this for some time now, and Akamaru notices it too. In this sort of place, we should be the only ones leaving a scent trail, but we're not." He took in the worried faces of his teammates before confirming their suspicions.

"Guys, we're being followed."

**  
meanwhile  
**_A little ways off  
_

Under the shade of a leafy tree, the blonde gave a half-hearted stretch before adjusting the lenses on his viewfinder. He wriggled around, feeling his neck give a throb of protest. The day's work of surveillance had not been very eventful. Then again, almost nothing was eventful by Akatsuki standards. He cracked his neck to the left and rubbed it ruefully, feeling the buildup of sweat running down his back. Usually they had middlemen do this sort of job, but Tobi had forgotten to arrange for a lineup.. again.

Throwing the happily humming figure beside him a dark sneer, Deidara turned back to the group of Chunin. Through the contraption fitted on his left eye, hesurveyed the quartet seated about a quarter of a mile away, noting their apparent unease.

"They aren't even bothering to hide their tracks now, so they obviously know we're here, uhn." he drawled, keeping his eye on their target. As he spoke, he allowed a tiny, dusty lizard, the very same that had been on Kiba's shoe just a moment ago, to crawl over and around his violet-tinted nails. With a flick, the man sent the reptile soaring into the air. With a sudden start of understanding, the blonde's companion, an Akatsuki robe-covered form wearing the curious addendum of a spiraled orange mask, fell onto all fours in a futile attempt to get away.

The tiny lizard gave a wriggle mid-air before exploding into a shower of sand.

"Eep, Deidara-sama!" the masked figure shrieked, covered in a light powder. "They'll hear us!"

"You mean they'll hear you, Tobi." Deidara rolled his eyes. "And it doesn't matter. Right now, they can't hear anything but what Itachi-san wants them to hear. Have you made contact with him yet?"

"Uhm.. Tobi might've forgotten."

The lanky blonde flipped backwards onto the mossy ground, resting his head on folded arms. He pursed his lips and blew at a stray lock of hair that had escaped from both the confines of his ponytail and his bangs. Giving up, Deidara turned sideways, allowing the tiniest crease to cross his feminine features as he scrutinized his hapless partner.

Tobi was truly a mystery. Technically, the Akatsuki members were all selective in what they made known about themselves, but Tobi's boyish and naïve nature made him a kook among anomalies. Any impressive characteristics or qualities that had allowed the kid to make it in the murderous organization were lost on Deidara. The idiot's only recurring talent so far was the inhuman ability to forget everything assigned to him. Sighing, Deidara closed his eyes and let the heat of the sun embrace him.

"Well, I calculated ahead of time that you would, so I alerted Itachi-san already." He cracked open an eye. "What about the faked mission request to Konoha? Did you remember that?"

Tobi nodded avidly, his head bobbing up and down in his eagerness to please. "Of course, Deidara-sama! Tobi contacted his very own Konoha agent to do so!" Even through the mask covering his face, Tobi's absolute rapture was unconcealed. "The nice agent makes such yummy yakisoba.. and the papers his messenger birdies bring are so pretty too! Look at it!" Waving a pale pink piece of stationary about, Tobi gleefully waited for his partner's approval.

Deidara groaned, rolling over to bury his face into the sand. His muffled voice came out pained and exhausted. "Tobi, you had someone use messenger birds to send the request, didn't you? I told you specifically, the mission request had to be from Suna, uhn. Suna doesn't use stupid pigeons anymore!"

"Oops. Sorry senpai."

Not bothering to even lift his head, Deidara raised an arm to point at a spot behind his hopeless teammate.

"Get the radio. Alert Itachi-san -now.-"

Understanding the immediate consequences if he refused, Tobi scrambled to his feet. As the rustling of an Akatsuki cloak alerted Deidara to the incorrigible ninja's departure, the blonde sat up and resigned himself to packing up their equipment. It wasn't too much of a problem, but it wasn't his job to comfort Tobi. Itachi and Kisame were quick, they'd grab the girl before the Konoha council were any wiser. Still, they'd best be on their way. Marching over to where Tobi was shutting off the radio, he dragged the man up by the collar.

"Come on, they're getting out of sight, uhn."

**  
evening  
**_Those pesky sand dunes  
_

They had spent the remainder of the afternoon in tense silence, each ninja preoccupied with their own interpretation of the pursuers. As Kiba was the only member able to sense the followers and was unwilling to impart further information, the rest of the team was forced to rely on imagined manifestations of begrudged mentally unstable sand-pirates and hardened killers with tattooed heads and missing limbs.

Whoever the stalkers were, they were intelligent enough to hide their chakra, although their scent was left unmasked, leaving Sakura particularly frustrated in her inability to recognize their trackers. On top of it all, Kiba had kept them on a steady pace through the desert, not allotting time for their mystery followers to catch up. It was a taut game of cat and mouse, as the pursuers never seemed to quicken nor drop their pace. Until now.

From over the next largest pile of sand, Akamaru appeared and gave a low howl. Kiba suddenly broke into a sprint. "Okay guys, time to run," he shouted. "They've got reinforcements!"

Sakura opened her mouth to question him when suddenly she was hit by an overwhelming amount of chakra energy. Reeling from the sudden intrusion of her senses, Sakura immediately realized that their trackers no longer cared about concealment. She could distinguish as many as four individual chakra signatures, all dangerously latent with raw power. From her right, she heard Hinata pant and felt the layout of her own chakra change as the kunoichi activated her Byakugan.

"Two are coming our way," Sakura shouted, avoiding a glimmer of steel in her peripheral vision. She dodged a scattering of makibishi stars. The shuriken-like blades buried themselves in the sand ahead of her, forcing her to change direction.

"Sakura, roll left!"

Immediately heeding Hinata's command, Sakura tucked her chin against her chest before throwing herself to the left. Something whistled overhead, landing in the sand a few feet away. Slamming her hands down, Sakura cursed as the surface gave way easily beneath her fingers, providing poor support in rappelling herself away. The explosion that followed swiftly sent a blast of sand blinding her vision, and once again Sakura barely managed to cast a shield.

The flapping sound of wings brought her attention skywards, where a gigantic mass was flying away, a form on top of it apparently steering. Hanging from it was another cloaked figure, who waved at her.

Sakura gaped openly, immediately recognizing the insignias on the cloak.

-Akatsuki.-

With another wave, the figure swung himself onto the clay-like bird and flew away. From the spot where he had just been appeared four shadows in the sky, swelling larger with each second as they fell. Accurately guessing them to be more bombs, Sakura easily dodged each one and swerved away from the resulting blasts of sand. It had to be the missing-nin Deidara, the one with the Kibaku Nendo skills. Sakura remembered him from their last confrontation, but she not fought him directly, leaving that to Naruto and Kakashi. Taking a deep breath, she scanned the landscape, looking for her teammates. She felt a shiver creep up her arms as complete silence permeated the area.

They were gone.

"They will not be touched further if you agree to our proposition now, kunoichi."

Sakura wavered, in awe with how her attacker had managed to get behind her without her noticing. She felt her pulse quicken, allowing possible courses of action to stream through her mind. With a twist, she darted out of the way, turning while she jumped to face her attacker.

There was nobody there.

"Nice try, kunoichi," a second voice chuckled from behind her, gruffer and harsher than the first. Before she could respond, thick arms grabbed her around her throat, choking her. Sakura felt something metal scrape and she slumped backwards in astonishment, feeling most of her chakra dissipate and vanish.

"Genjutsu Kai!"

The desert melted. Sakura gasped as the entire scenery collapsed into rivulets that dripped into the ground, leaving behind a dark forest at night. The scent of moist soil and fresh air surrounded her and the gritty surface of the desert became soft and spongy.

A tiny sigh from behind her told her Hinata was not far, although Sakura could not trust her situation enough to risk turning to check. Nor did she feel even a semblance of the mental strength she knew she would need in order to face what was directly ahead of her.

From between the slope of two trees stood a man, face-obscured by the shadows. He was clothed in typical Akatsuki gear, a long black cloak decorated with blood-red swirls of clouds. Nothing was visible from his neck up except for a pair of dotted scarlet eyes.

Uchiha Itachi.

Sakura's tongue felt dry and useless as she tried to slide out of her dull, sluggish panic and into clear thought. So this was Sasuke's older brother, the cruel murderer that had haunted her crush and driven him to abandon his own village. The swirling red eyes, dotted with the triple-tomoe of the Sharingan, were fixed hypnotically on her.

As though the emphasize the urgency of her situation, the arms around her neck shifted, one traveling lecherously over her body as the other slid aside to make room for a kunai blade. Caught in the inescapable lock, the rosette-haired kunoichi felt her strength wane with each passing second. The cool edge of the blade dipped and nicked her throat, drawing the scent of metallic blood into the air.

They had been caught completely unawares. Two Akatsuki versus four Chunin. While they may have been able to hold off the headstrong Iwagakure-nin, Deidara, Itachi was another story. The fight was over before it had even began.

With the sky already clouding over with the onset of rain, shadows filled the forests, casting it into strange, unearthly shadows. Sakura felt the hair on her neck stand on end as she tried to focus her gaze on the dark figure standing a few feet away from her. Although she had never come into contact with him before, Sakura had heard enough of Itachi to know underestimating his genjutsu skills would be a quick and fatal mistake. He had not attacked her or her teammates directly yet, but Sakura did not doubt he was waiting for the right moment.

"You never made it to the Land of the Wind," he finally spoke, his collected voice sending Sakura's heart into overdrive. "You never set foot in Suna. You've been under my genjutsu for the past two days."

Sakura shut her eyes, willing herself to block out his smooth voice. She was dizzy with the knowledge that everything that had happened in the past few days had been naught but an illusion, and could barely focus on her enemy at hand. Could really have been so easily subdued? It was impossible to think that the Uchiha had kept the four of them under a single genjutsu for so long. If he was tired or exhausted, he did not show any outward sign of it.

"We have a request for you, from our leader," he continued tonelessly. "If you consent, we will bring you to him. If you do not, we will leave. However, we may come back at some later time.. and we do not promise it will be as peacefully."

Sakura shivered under the effect of his laced words. This was blackmail for her agreement to her own kidnapping, and he knew it. She felt a stab in her heart as she thought of the teammates she had dragged into the affair.

Kiba. Hinata. Chouji. Dead or alive, she did not know. She did not -want- to know.

If this was peaceful, she did not want to see Itachi's definition of the opposite. Her own life was not at stake here. If what he said was true, she would at least have time along the way to calculate possibilities for escape. Whether this was possible or not, Sakura did not allow herself to question. With her mind made up, she furled her fingers into tight fists, strengthening her resolve.

"I accept. Do not harm my friends."

The ninja behind her gave another barking laugh and tightened his hold on her body. The strange scales on his skin rubbed painfully into Sakura's upper arms, scratching numerous minuscule cuts. Out of habit, her body subconsciously attempted to concentrate healing chakra to the punctures, but the streams of weak chakra were immediately tugged as though by some unseen force to a point behind her. Sakura mentally cursed. Obviously, the chakra leeching method they had set up was there just to keep her and her friends at bay.

"Then we leave now, little kunoichi," the man behind her barked. "Your friends will appreciate this dearly." As he spoke, a trickle of blood pushed its way stubbornly through the coarse dirt and wound its way around her foot. Sakura felt her legs wobble and fought to keep her nausea at bay, refusing to show weakness by allowing herself to fall.

Sakura opened her mouth to offer a retort, but the blade at her throat forced her head back further. The tendons in her neck screamed in protest as she looked up into the forbidding face looming above her. Her eyes swam as her brain slowly ceased to function.

"Sakura," a fearful high-pitched voice begged, bringing her back to the moment. The named kunoichi squeezed her eyes shut as her heartbeat raced dangerously with painful recognition. Now she could be sure at least one person was still alive..

"Look after Naruto for me," Sakura replied, faking what she hoped sounded optimistic and wincing as her voice cracked badly. "Don't worry, Hinata," she reassured the meek Hyuuga heiress. "I promise you, I'll come back." Sakura allowed her eyes to drift away from the menacing face of her assailant to the night sky and shut her eyes.

-Help me.-

Any response from her friend was cut off as the blade around her neck suddenly dug in. Sakura choked and struggled backwards against her captor's chest, stars exploding in her vision. The ninja holding her shifted and jerked, aiming a kick at the helpless Hyuuga. A blanketed 'thud' and the following soft moan from behind her informed her of the rogue ninja's actions.

Sakura's eyes flew open in outrage. "Don't-"

All too late, she remembered the man in front of her, who had lapsed into silence. To her dread, she looked directly into the spinning orbs of the activated Mangekyou.

Her last glimpse of the world was of the deep crimson hue of his swirling eyes.

"Fuck," Kisame whistled, dropping his arms and carelessly watching as the pink-haired girl slumped over onto the ground. "This better be worth it, we'll have all of Leaf looking for us after this."

His partner ignored him, taking quick strides forwards to reach the slumped ninja. Easing his arms under her form, he easily shifted her onto his shoulder. Giving Kisame a quick nod, he spun on the spot and vanished in a blur.

Kisame shrugged, knowing what he had to do. Sighing, he leaned on the deadly Samehada and surveyed the remaining three bodies.

"Now, to deal with you three."

* * *

A/N: Map of the Problematique by Muse makes me incredibly jumpy. 

Don't ask me what Suna really uses; either way, Courier-nin are amazing. I wish my postman could preform Heavy Package no Jutsu. Right on.

I don't write fight scenes. You may have realized that.

Sorry for the nonexistent focus on our main character. She'll develop soon enough, away from that cardboard piece of character crap the anime likes to call Sakura.

And I just want to say, after reading Chapter 370 of Naruto.. Madara's -hot-.


	3. three

i'm at turns hating and accepting what i've already written.  
it's hard to resist rewriting what i've already submitted.  
maybe i'm just hard to please.  
read & review please.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Move along now.

**-  
**x  
-

**.private behavior.**

-chapter three-  
by a-happy-love

**-  
**x  
-

**mid-afternoon  
**_Konoha _

The hospital air was startlingly cool compared to the heat of outdoors. The gentle spring breezes had given way early this year till the streets of the village were encompassed in a slow bake. Cracks had already appeared in what had just recently been muddy streets, now hardened and dried to a pale, dusty color. The sweat on Tsunade's arms cooled rapidly as she strode past the receptionist desk, waving aside the nurses and attendants that immediately stood up in attention with her arrival. Tsunade ran up the hallway, the faithful Shizune at her side, quickly briefing the frantic Hokage as rapidly as she could.

"It's the team we sent out three days ago. A scouting patrol in Suna noticed flares coming from the desert around early morning today. They discovered the team in bad condition." Shizune counted off the members on her fingers. "They first found Akamaru, who led them to the others. Akamaru's being seen to now by Hana Inuzuka, at her compound. Kiba's got minor lacerations on his arms and a broken leg. They found bruises on Hinata, not to mention a case of heatstroke, but not as bad as the severe dehydration Chouji's suffering. All three of them have dangerously low levels of chakra reserves, but whether that's the result of extended activity or some chakra siphon is still undetermined."

Tsunade swallowed thickly, feeling her pulse beat from the pit of her stomach. If this was an enemy attack, this was serious. In lieu of the deterioration of peace treaties, Konoha was at risk for attack from neighboring nations, something it could not withstand in its current political state. Tsunade made a mental note to immediately assign someone to investigating the origin and reason for the ambush. She turned to find Shizune pointedly avoiding her gaze. Pulling the young assistant's arm, Tsunade looked urgently into her frightened eyes.

"That's not all. What about Sakura? What aren't you telling me?"

Shizune trembled, haltingly attempting to placate the Fifth. "W-we don't exactly know. Her b-body was not among the ones recovered. There are absolutely no traces of her anywhere. She's just.. gone."

-Oh Kami.-

Tsunade immediately had to fight to stifle the millions of thoughts swirling in her head. Despite her mind's natural inclination to jump from thought to thought, she forced herself to organize what she knew. It'd be the most logical course of action to trace the circumstances from the beginning. However, while anxious to attend directly to the matter of the missing Chunin, Tsunade felt another nagging worry press at her from the back of her mind.

"What about the medical emergency? Did Gaara-san request another medic-nin in Sakura's place?"

This time, it was Shizune who slowed her steps down to a standstill. Worriedly, Tsunade paused, turning back to examine the nervous young aide's face.

"Tsunade-san.." Shizune replied, biting her lip. "The Kazekage says he never requested Sakura. He never filed a mission form at all." The dark-haired woman shook her head rapidly, as though doing so would clear up her obvious confusion. "In fact.. I remembered this shortly after he told me.. Sunagakure began employing Courier-nin's a few months ago. The request we received arrived by flight; Suna no longer uses carrier pigeons."

Tsunade sighed, bringing a hand up to rub her temples. "Give me the papers with information on the rest of the team and the report from Suna. I want you to immediately correspond with the Kazekage and assure him we harbor no suspicion against Suna. Explain to him the entire situation and skip no details; Gaara-san is to be trusted. Tell him any information he can give to us in this matter will be invaluable. All clear?"

"H-hai, Tsunade-sama." Shizune hid her confusion over her mentor's lack of surprise and handed the older woman the necessary papers. She gave a quick bow and scurried away, leaving Tsunade to her own thoughts.

The fifth Hokage stood for a moment, letting the silence of the hallway envelop her. What had she signed up for when she agreed to this job? Tsunade sighed, flipping through the top of the stack of reports. Finding the information she was looking for, she started off toward a different wing of the hospital.

Even before Shizune had answered her, Tsunade had already partially guessed that the Kazekage had never been involved in the mission. A team left relatively unharmed, a single ninja missing.. It was highly unlikely anything fatal had befallen Sakura. All signs pointed to a kidnapping. Smaller ninja villages commonly had a history of having to deal with issues involving small bands of kidnappers that thrived on give-and-take situations with unsuspecting low-level ninja. However, this was a matter way beyond a normal abduction.

Sakura was no normal Chunin, something Tsunade knew better than anyone else. She had personally instructed her protege in advanced forms of amassing strength and taijutsu. Sakura's chakra control was formidable, leading into a natural grasp of genjutsu and ninjutsu. She was also quick, both in speed and learning, and by no means a reluctant student. Through a combination of inner resolve, determination, and an almost unhealthy supply of stubbornness, the only female member of Team 7 had more than proved her worth to Konoha.

Tsunade realized the grinding noise reverberating in her ears was coming from her mouth. Easing the friction on her molars, she reprimanded herself on her feelings. If she was going to find Sakura, her own feelings towards the girl would have to be set aside.

Coming at last to the door she was searching for, the Hokage waved away an approaching nurse and entered the room. There were three beds in the ward, each separated by individual curtains. The first bed was empty and a quick glance at the medical sheet showed that the occupant was currently undergoing examination in a different room. Hinata's prone form lay on the second hospital bed. Sensing nothing requiring her immediate attention, Tsunade left the girl breathing gently in slumber and turned her focus upon the third occupant of the room.

A young boy sat on the bed closest to the room's sole window. -Not so much boy anymore-, Tsunade reminded herself, recalling how he had acted two years ago upon finding out he lacked necessary immunization injections. The solemn figure sitting before her, neatly bandaged and dressed in a hospital gown was a far cry from the wailing boy back then. Kiba closed his eyes, feeling the uncomfortable heat of the mid-day sun shine through the window and onto his bed. Tsunade marveled at the change the few years had brought amongst the youth of Konoha.

-And if we wish to see this growth continue, we must stop these intrusions as soon as possible-, Tsunade reminded herself sadly.

Taking the nod from Kiba as acceptance as to why she was here, she stayed silent, knowing Kiba would speak when he was ready. She did not have to wait long.

"Four men. Akatsuki. They approached us in Suna, right before the village. Two flew away on a clay structure, but I assume they stayed close by to watch. The other two worked as a team. One carried a sword wrapped in bandages. Sakura got separated from us during the fight. We couldn't get near her without losing chakra, there was some draining field around her area." Kiba paused. "One of the members looked like a fish. A dead one. Weird blue skin. Smelled terrible," he added, wrinkling his sensitive nose in distaste at the memory.

"We went down hard," he continued with a wince. "Didn't stand a chance against him at all. I just remember it suddenly getting cooler.. might've been a side-effect of passing out."

Tsunade stiffened at the description of the attackers. So the Akatsuki was behind this. It was suddenly more complicated than ever. Based on the physical attributes given, there was no doubt; it had to have been Kisame and Itachi. "Did they use genjutsu on any of your team?" she asked sharply. The implications of her question hung heavy in the air.

-More specifically, did Itachi use his Sharingan?-

Kiba shook his head slowly. "No-o.." he began thoughtfully. "I was scared out of my mind though, really thought he would. Now that I think about it, he didn't fight much at all. I know he was there, Akamaru and I could smell him, but we barely saw him. He stayed in the back. Shark-face handled the grunt work."

Tsunade mused over the new information. Something was strange here. In all past confrontations, Itachi had never shirked from the opportune use of his most powerful weapon and had made good use of his Sharingan's genjustsu effects. If kidnapping was the prime motive, it would've been a reasonable tactic to use the Sharingan on the remaining victims to delay any future tracking attempts. Why would Itachi leave such a clear trail back to his name? Or had this all been pre-planned? It was plausible this was all part of an elaborate scheme to involve the Hidden Leaf Village in larger chain of events.

Scanning the room, Tsunade allowed her gaze to fall upon a shabby heap of clothing on a chair near Kiba.

"You left quite a mess here," she remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"Eh? Oh.. oops," Kiba replied sheepishly, noting the track of dirt on the floor. "The nurses just set my stuff there when I changed into this gown. It hasn't really been cleaned."

Bending down to examine the shoes lined up neatly under the clothing, Tsunade frowned.

"You say you were in the desert?"

"Yeah.. hey, that's strange." Kiba's eyes narrowed as he came to the same conclusion. "Any dirt on my trainers should've been rubbed off by the sand."

Tsunade was already searching through the discarded clothing. Finding nothing but a tiny leaf, she pocketed the bit of foliage and turned to the curious boy still seated on the bed. Thanking Kiba for his help, Tsunade did not let his pale complexionslide by her unnoticed. Sentencing him to another week's worth of bed rest, she flashed him her mostimposing glare, silencing any potential argument.

On her way back to the door, she heard Kiba call steadily after her.

"She's gone, isn't she?"

Tsunade set her head against the frame of the door, weighing the possible implications of his word before replying.

"We'll bring her back."

Straightening herself, the Fifth walked out of the ward.

**mid-afternoon  
**_Somewhere_

Sakura woke up and screamed.

A large, blue-tinged hand immediately clasped itself over her mouth, covering the entire lower half of her face easily. Panicking at her sudden lack of oxygen and unable to open her mouth wide enough to bite, Sakura protested with a weak gurgle and did the first thing she could think of.

"Euugh!" Kisame removed his hand with an urgency and fervor ill-fitting to his gruff character. "Kunoichi," he ground out furiously, wiping his hands on his cloak, "the next time you wish to lick me, you may not be so lucky to be under the Leader's protection."

Inwardly, Sakura agreed with the shark man. Euugh indeed, he tasted just like he looked. After spitting out a decidedly fishy flavor, Sakura resolutely ignored the Akatsuki swordsman's dark mutterings and studied their surroundings. Judging by the sun and denser forest growth, she guessed they were about two or three days' travel away from the section of Konoha she had been accosted in. She had not been aware of any of the travel, meaning Itachi's genjutsu was something she definitely could not underestimate, not even with another lifetime's worth of training.

Judging the fish-like Akatsuki to be a danger that could take the backseat for now, Sakura decided to send out her chakra to scan the area. When she tried to pull out the necessary strands of chakra, however, she found she could not. Surprised, she tried again to no avail. It was like pulling water out from behind a thick dam. Her chakra streams were completely blocked.

There was no reason to panic.

There was no reason to panic.

Absolutely no reason to..

Okay. What the hell. She was a broken-down, newbie ANBU suffering severe chakra depletion and various injuries, all while in the possession of two murderous S-rank missing-nin who obviously had a purpose for her above her current understanding. Sakura took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. Fighting back now was pointless. Her body ached all over and she felt unnaturally weak.

She threw a suspicious glance over at a wrapped, oblong form resting against a nearby tree. It was giving off unnatural energy pulses she didn't need chakra detection to feel, and Sakura was willing to bet that it was the source of chakra problem as well. She had heard about weapons that absorbed energy during battle, and the vicious blade had been swung around willy-nilly during the brief skirmish in the sand. While she had been quick to avoid the slow swings, she now guessed the ultimatum purpose had not been to injure her, but to absorb her energy without her noticing.

Upon inspecting her fingers, Sakura found half the digits on her right hand swollen and blue, indicating possible breaks. She tried wiggling her fingers and immediately stopped, suppressing a sharp cry of pain. Yep. Broken. As she didn't have the energy to heal herself, Sakura checked for possible materials she could use as splints. Her medic equipment must've been left in the desert. She debated using fabric from her uniform, but her clothes were already ragged and pushing the decency limit. Wryly, she thought of what Naruto would say if he could see her now.

Her heart gave a lurch. Naruto..

The starry-eyed youth was still waiting for her back in Konoha, and with him the rest of the Hidden Leaf Village. Sakura took in the circumstances leading up to her arrangement. She couldn't be sure the rest of her teammates were unharmed. She didn't trust the Akatsuki any more than she trusted Naruto when he promised to hold her birthdays at locations other than the ramen bar. The problem was, she was fully in the grasp of the Akatsuki now. Whether or not they trusted her, she would be forced to rely on them until they decided she had done her duty.. whatever that was, and however long that would take. Gulping, Sakura tried not to imagine what would happen once that time came.

Before she could rid herself of mental images involving medieval torture devices and a cackling blue-skinned ninja sharpening his teeth with her ribs, a soft -thump- sounded from behind her.

"She's not meant to see where we're going." If Sakura hadn't known better, she would've thought the emotionless Uchiha almost sounded impatient. His voice was soft and controlled, his words direct without wasting breath.

In front of her, the blue-skinned ninja shrugged. "She doesn't know where we are, do you, kunoichi?"

"No," Sakura stated bluntly. "And I'm guessing you're not going to enlighten me." Suddenly feeling as though she had gone too far, she winced.

"Regardless," the Uchiha murmured, "we travel in silence."

"I can be qui-" Sakura spat angrily, hoping she was establishing a lack of fear for the Uchiha as she turned around, mentally preparing herself for spinning red eyes. Instead, she found herself facing a kneeling Itachi whose eyes, while crimson, did not rotate with the tri-tomoe.

"No," he whispered. "You cannot." Entranced by the lack of distance between her and the S-nin, Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. From up close, he seemed much younger than the lines on his face led one to assume. He couldn't be much older than twenty.. maybe barely even that. Sakura froze when she realized his fingers were on the back of her neck. Feeling a sudden jolt shoot from his fingertips, her eyes rolled upwards and she collapsed onto the forest floor.

Uchiha Itachi studied the unconscious figure at his feet. Bloodied and soiled, the renowned medic-nin was certainly not living up to her reputation. When he had first been called in about the mission, he had granted her a wary respect upon reading her list of credentials. However, her skills, or what he had seen of them in the past few days, were useless and nonexistent. What a waste of time. On top of that..

"She reeks," Kisame grunted, stating the obvious.

They still had at least another two days before they'd reach the safehouse where they'd be able to preform the jutsu that would transport them in spirit to the organization Leader. Itachi preferred the method of communication over actually arriving in body. Not only did it save needless extra travel, he wasn't sure if the Leader wouldn't just abandon the mission after catching a whiff of the girl. Itachi turned, allowing his cloak to settle around him before speaking.

"Don't let her scream again like that. Leader only wants her, not half the population here as well."

He paused, allowing the slightest crease to cross his face.

"Fix the smell."

With a leap, he was gone, leaving Kisame to the delicacies of washing their captive.

* * *

**A/N: **Sorry, not as long as usual, but I felt like it really had to be put out. xX 

I have to apologize for the long wait. I had it all written out, but I just got so behind with schoolwork and other activities.

Still looking for a beta, please email me (address on profile).


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